Morecambe Keeper Rescues Point Against Portsmouth

Morecambe goalkeeper Barry Roche grabbed the headlines tonight as he headed home from a last minute corner to get a well-earned point for the Shrimps.

The Shrimps started very brightly, and had a free kick in a threatening position in the first minute. Kevin Ellison hit the ball over the bar, but it was looking positive for the home side.

Barry Roche had could’ve scored two goals today, and his first chance to score came in the 16th minute when he kicked the ball out of his hands and the wind helped the ball travel straight towards the Portsmouth goal, and Fulton was able to just keep it out.

Paul Cook’s side caught Morecambe on the break a number of times in the first half, but the Shrimps had been lucky up until the 40th minute when the away side took the lead. Gareth Evans made his way into the box and slotted home past Roche fairly easily from close range to put Pompey in front at the break.

In the second half Jim Bentley’s side created the better chances, although they weren’t excellent in the final third. For instance, Luke Conlan put a decent ball into the box in the 69th minute but Shaun Miller failed to control it whilst unmarked.

Jamie Devitt came very close in the 80th minute, when he cut inside the box and his curling shot went just over the bar.

Time was running out for Morecambe, and substitute Lee Molyneux put a good through ball into the box but it came to nothing in the 90th minute.

There was four minutes of added time and Molyneux played a major part at the end and he should scored the equaliser from close range but he was denied by a cracking save by Liverpool loanee Ryan Fulton.

Keeper Barry Roche came up for Morecambe’s only corner of the game, which occurred in the last minute of added time and was taken by Shaun Miller. The Irishman made a cracking run away from the defender and headed home to grab a point in remarkable fashion sending the crowd into raptures.

You could see what it meant to both the players and the fans, as celebrations continued for quite a while with the whole Morecambe team piling on top of Roche and the crowd chanting his name. Was a privilege to be there.